So, bioplastics &#; where did that topic come from? Well, we've gotten this question a few times from you - the super discerning, dig-deep-for-truth beautiful people that you are! You've seen bioplastics pop up in beauty packaging, you want to know the whole truth, and we are so here for it!
You will get efficient and thoughtful service from HuaWei.
In fact, if you have any questions about cosmetic formulations, packaging, or really anything under the beauty sun, we&#;re happy to share our knowledge, do the research for you, and share what we find! Let us know your questions anytime!
Keep reading for:
Whereas conventional plastic is made from petroleum materials, bioplastic is mostly made from plants or other renewable materials.
The most common bioplastic, PLA, is made by extracting sugar from corn and sugarcane, and the second most common (PHA), is made from genetically engineered microorganisms and other organic materials.
Bioplastics can also be made from plant cellulose, wheat, milk casein, and countless other materials that are being discovered every day.
Image: @cm.cola
Bioplastics were first invented about 100 years ago. It&#;s only recently though, as our waste/plastic crisis has become glaringly obvious, that people have started to pay attention to this plastic alternative.
It&#;s seen as a more eco-friendly to conventional plastic by some, but is heavily criticized by others. So, what&#;s the truth?
Bioplastics are seen by some as a more sustainable alternative to conventional plastic &#; fans say they&#;ll use less fossil fuel, will decompose easier/faster, and they have a small carbon footprint.
When you look closer, however, they&#;re not without their drawbacks. Let&#;s chat about why:
Research has found that bioplastics produce more toxins than conventional plastic from the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and chemicals used to convert plants into plastic.
Plants produce oxygen and remove carbon dioxide (one of the main greenhouse gasses) from the atmosphere. As we convert more natural environments to crops for bioplastics, fewer greenhouse gasses are removed from the atmosphere.
Growing bioplastic crops means taking land that could be used to grow food, and instead, we're growing plastic. There is only so much viable land available, and food needs to come before packaging.
Image: @leafandpetaldesign
While thought of as &#;biodegradable&#;, the truth is, most bioplastics will only biodegrade under very specific conditions found in advanced industrial composting facilities. They can&#;t be just thrown in a pile to be broken down like regular plant material. For cities that have these facilities, bioplastics can be great. Most areas, however, don&#;t have these operations in place.
And even more confusing, there are different types of biodegradability. Some bioplastics can degrade with sunlight and oxygen, but they can take years, don&#;t degrade completely, and release toxic chemicals into the atmosphere, soil, and water.
And the worst part, decomposition of bioplastics releases methane, a greenhouse gas even worse than carbon dioxide.
Because they look so similar, most people can&#;t tell the difference between bioplastics and conventional plastic (and many have never even heard of bioplastic). So, consumers wind up throwing their bioplastics in with their other plastic recyclables.
The problem: most bioplastics are not recyclable. And when they enter a conventional recycling plant, they can become mixed with regular plastics, rendering the whole mix garbage. So, instead of reducing waste, oftentimes bioplastics create more waste.
This means that a material will eventually break down into tiny fragments. Even conventional plastic is degradable &#; with the right conditions, and over a very long time it will eventually break down into smaller parts. It will never return to its natural state however, and tiny pieces of it can stick around in the environment forever.
While there&#;s some gray area with this term, biodegradable means a material that can break down within a few months. Some bioplastics can take years to break down, and these are instead called &#;durable&#;.
Materials that will biodegrade in a compost pile at the same rate as other natural materials, leaving no toxins behind. The problem: some &#;compostable&#; materials will only biodegrade properly in an industrial composting facility with very specific conditions, whereas others can break down in a backyard compost pile.
Materials that can be repurposed for other uses. Most bioplastic is not recyclable. To learn more about how to keep your recyclables out of the landfill, read our latest blog.
While it does have its issues, there are some promising new developments in the bioplastics world. New companies are beginning to produce bioplastics from food waste, crop residues, algae, and wastewater &#; all much more sustainable alternatives that could reduce many of the problems above.
Also, if more education is given to consumers on how to dispose of their bioplastic packaging (and how to tell it apart from plastic), it could be a great alternative. And the most important step: getting more facilities that are equipped to handle these new materials.
Look on labels for disposal direction &#; check for recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable labels on your packaging. Usually, you can find a symbol or written label that explains how to dispose of the packaging. If there are no indicators, you can assume it&#;s destined for the landfill.
For more on reading recycling symbols, visit our blog on recycling your beauty buys.
The truth is, there&#;s no perfect alternative for our plastic addiction at the moment. The best we can do &#; choose better, use less, and reuse more. And don&#;t beat ourselves up (or worse, give up because it seems too overwhelming) when we don&#;t get it perfect. Some easy tips to reduce your plastic usage:
The biggest way to reduce your plastic use overall is to consume less. Get more intentional about what you&#;re purchasing &#; buy fewer, higher quality, sustainable items that you need or just truly love.
Bring reusable bags to the grocery store, malls, and on all your shopping stops.
A surprising fact: about 60% of our clothing is made of fibers that come from plastic including nylon, acrylic, and polyester. When washed, these fabrics shed plastic microfibers that end up in our waterways and oceans. What you can do to limit this:
______________________
Thanks for being the Earth-loving humans that you are! Let us know any other questions you have in your quest to #choosebetterbeauty.
- ĀTHR Beauty xo
0 Flares
0 Flares
×Below is our Top 6 most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you have one that hasn&#;t been answered below or want more detail, please contact us! We love chatting about our amazing products and answering all kinds of questions! Believe me, we&#;ve had some doozies in our day!
The short answer:
BioBags are made from a resin derived from plants, vegetable oils and compostable polymers.
The more detailed answer:
BioBag® products are made from a compostable resin named Mater-Bi®. Mater-Bi® is produced by Novamont, an Italian research company dedicated to environmental alternatives to polyethylene-based plastics. Mater-Bi® is an innovative family of bioplastics that uses substances obtained from plants, such as but not limited to, non-genetically modified corn starch, and biodegradable/compostable polymers obtained both from renewable raw materials and fossil raw materials. Novamont&#;s policy is to acquire and use exclusively natural, non-GM, raw materials (such as starch). Most of our products (3 gallon, 13 gallon, sandwich bags, produce bags and liners) have a non-GMO third party certification. To read more about Mater-Bi®, visit Novamont&#;s website.
The majority of BioBags are Manufactured in the USA with resin (mentioned above) sourced from Italy. More specifically, we create the glorious BioBag in a magical place called San Leandro, California! A few of our products are manufactured in Thailand and Estonia.
We don&#;t sell directly to consumers but BioBags can be easily purchased online and at many natural and traditional retailers. To find some of those retailers, see our How to Order page. If you are a wholesaler, distributor, non-profit, government entity or any other business organization and would like to purchase BioBags, contact us directly for pricing and to set up an account. We only have one case minimums and our customer service is unparalleled!
We are SO glad you asked this question.
The short answer:
BioBags are certified compostable meaning they can be consumed by micro-organisms in an industrial setting and meet the testing specifications found in the ASTM D. Our bags are digested by these microbial bacteria, along with food and yard waste, to become soil or fertilizer. Some of our products are even home compost certified (European) and can be composted in your home composter. Pretty neat, huh?
The more detailed answer:
Check out our whole web page dedicated to the difference between compostable and biodegradable along with our certifications.
The company is the world’s best bio plastic bag manufacturer supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
A BioBag is not meant to last forever. It is meant to collect organic waste and be turned into compost along with that organic waste. Because a BioBag is not made of polyethylene, the bag can start to break down when exposed to microorganisms that are found in the ground and on organic waste.
For best results:
The short answer:
Like ALL things (including food waste, paper and all else), Virtually Nothing.
The more detailed answer:
BioBags are designed to be composted and returned naturally back to the earth. If BioBags are placed in an &#;open&#; or &#;turned&#; space like a compost facility they will decompose at a rate similar to other biodegradable materials in the same setting. If BioBags are placed in an anaerobic (air-locked) landfill and deprived of oxygen and the existence of the micro-organisms that &#;eat&#; naturally biodegradable materials, their ability to decompose will be severely restricted. This is true of all biodegradable materials placed in this setting, including paper, yard waste, and food waste. The majority of landfills in the U.S. are modern anaerobic (air-locked) landfills.
These modern landfills are designed to safely entomb waste and to protect the environment from the liquids and gases that are produced during the very slow breakdown of waste. The impediment of degradation is because the lack of exposure to air, water and sunlight which is needed for degradation. Therefore, by design, modern landfills greatly retard the degradation process to reduce the by-products that might otherwise contaminate groundwater and the air. They are also specially designed so that the land can be used after the landfill is capped and closed. Parks, golf courses and even airports have been built on top of closed landfills!
As a consumer, you should be quite suspicious of any manufacturer making claims that their products will biodegrade, degrade or &#;go away&#; quickly in a landfill. There are many Federal and State Regulations preventing false claims such as these.
0 Flares
0 Flares
For more information, please visit biodegradable garment bags.
×